U.S. patent application number 11/482489 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-09 for aligning content in an electric document.
This patent application is currently assigned to Microsoft Corporation. Invention is credited to Mark Yalovsky.
Application Number | 20060253777 11/482489 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37395376 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060253777 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yalovsky; Mark |
November 9, 2006 |
Aligning content in an electric document
Abstract
Aligning the contents of document objects on an electronic
document page. Organizing a page of document objects so textual
content is aligned to natural eye scanning patterns promotes
readership and usability. When a user creates a new island of text,
the new text can be snapped into alignment with an existing island
of text. Invisible guidelines that emanate from textual features in
a document object can page. In response to placing a content
insertion point ("IP") on an electronic page with an existing
document object, the IP can be automatically aligned to the content
of the existing document object. A page with several arbitrarily
positioned document objects can be automatically rearranged so that
the contents of the document objects are each aligned to one
another.
Inventors: |
Yalovsky; Mark; (Seattle,
WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MERCHANT & GOULD (MICROSOFT)
P.O. BOX 2903
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402-0903
US
|
Assignee: |
Microsoft Corporation
Redmond
WA
|
Family ID: |
37395376 |
Appl. No.: |
11/482489 |
Filed: |
July 7, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10664500 |
Sep 19, 2003 |
|
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|
11482489 |
Jul 7, 2006 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/235 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/0484 20130101;
G06F 40/166 20200101; G06F 40/103 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/530 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/00 20060101
G06F017/00 |
Claims
1-17. (canceled)
18. A computer-implemented method for arranging content in an
electronic page comprising the steps of: identifying a first object
on the electronic page, wherein the first object comprises a first
line of text; identifying a second object on the electronic page,
wherein the second object comprises a second line of text; and
moving the second line of text into alignment with the first line
of text.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the moving step further
comprises moving the second object.
20. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of:
generating a first guideline that is aligned to a feature of the
first object; generating a second guideline that is aligned to a
feature of the second object; and determining a displacement
between the first guideline and the second guideline, wherein the
moving step comprises moving the second line of text into alignment
with the first line of text on the basis of the displacement.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to aligning objects in
electronic document pages and more specifically to a method for
aligning the content of one object relative to the content of
another object.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Electronic document editors are widely used in homes and
businesses today. Familiar examples of these editors include word
processing applications that operate on personal computers (PCs)
and note-taking applications that operate on personal data
assistants (PDAs). One goal for these applications is to replace
paper as the simplest means to record and communicate information.
However, to replace and enhance paper's utility, the electronic
document editor should allow the user to place document objects on
a page and to edit, move, resize, and add text and other content,
while ensuring that the user can efficiently review the page,
clearly scan the individual objects, and readily read the content
of each object. Also, unlike typical word processors, a free-form
document editor that allows a user to quickly absorb content from
multiple objects more closely models paper's utility.
[0003] One function that a free-form electronic document editor
should have to enhance its utility is the capability to align
document objects relative to one another to present a user with an
organized view of textual and graphic content. When content on a
page is organized and aligned, a user can quickly scan the page to
identify information of interest.
[0004] A typical word processor presents text in an organized,
one-dimensional format. Text is usually entered onto a page
beginning at the top left-hand corner and moving in a line, more or
less continuously, to the lower right-hand corner of the page.
Although this format promotes legibility, it imposes a rigid
structure upon the user. Many users find this structural imposition
more limiting, and thus less desirable, than traditional pen and
paper.
[0005] In contrast, a free-form document editor supports document
objects, islands of content that can be added anywhere on the two
dimensional surface of the page. A document object contains textual
and/or graphic content that is grouped together. This content may
include text entered by a keyboard or similar device, handwriting
entered with a stylus or similar device, a drawing, or a
combination of these items. However, if an electronic document
contains multiple islands of content and the content of each island
is misaligned, then readability can suffer. Consequently, islands
of content in an electronic document need to be aligned relative to
one another to facilitate a user readily scanning the page to
identify information contained therein.
[0006] Some word processing programs allow users to place text
boxes on a page. A text box is a type of document object that
contains textual content presented in the format of a rectangular
box or other geometric shape. An electronic document may display
textual content inside a rectangular frame so that the text box
serves as a content container. However, conventional word
processing programs do not generally support automatically
arranging these boxes or their content relative to one another so
that the content of multiple boxes is uniformly aligned.
[0007] A user typically creates a new text box by positioning a
pointer, such as a cursor or stylus, at a desired position on the
electronic page and entering an insertion point ("IP"). The
location of the IP defines the starting point of the content that
the user enters. If the user precisely positions the IP, the
content of the new text box may be aligned with the content of an
existing text box. More commonly, the content in multiple text
boxes is not precisely aligned since such manual alignment is
tedious. Furthermore, conventional word processing programs
generally lack a provision to automatically align a new IP with an
existing text box. An electronic page that displays text boxes with
misaligned content does not generally promote readership.
[0008] One of the advantages of traditional pen and paper is the
ease with which information can be rearranged and presented. A user
can jot down islands of content at convenient locations on the top
sheet of a pad of paper whenever the need arises to record
information. The user can then tear off the top sheet and manually
transfer the content to a new sheet at a convenient time. The user
can arrange the islands during the transfer process so that the
content of each island is presented in relative alignment. Users
sometimes arrange the overall layout of a page to emphasize
specific content, for example placing a dominant island of content
in the upper left corner of the page. In a presentation format that
features aligned content, the user can quickly scan the sheet to
reference information. However, many users find manually
transferring information between sheets undesirable. Many users
also find manually reorganizing information in electronic
documents, which typically offer limited screen space for clearly
displaying information, cumbersome. Furthermore, conventional
electronic document editors generally lack capabilities to
automatically arrange the content of multiple test islands.
[0009] What is needed is a capability for automatically positioning
one or more document objects in an electronic document so the
contents of multiple objects are aligned relative to one another.
This capability should also include automatically aligning an IP
relative to the content of an existing document object. Such a
capability would combine the flexibility of pen and paper with the
readability of word processing documents.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention can provide a computer-implemented
method for aligning content on an electronic page. When a user
selects a location on an electronic page as the insertion point
("IP") for entering new content, the present invention can adjust
the position of the IP so that the new content is aligned with
existing content. The method can include adjusting the IP after the
user selects the IP position but before the user enters the new
content. The method can also include adjusting the IP after the
user enters the new content.
[0011] In one aspect of the present invention, a
computer-implemented method for aligning content on an electronic
page includes organizing the electronic page so that the contents
of multiple document objects are aligned with respect to one
another. The method can include moving specific contents of one or
more document objects.
[0012] In another aspect of the present invention, a
computer-implemented method for aligning content on an electronic
page can include creating guidelines and associating them with
content features that are relevant to alignment. Guidelines provide
alignment guides that facilitate aligning the content of one
document object in relation to the content of another document
object. The method can include attaching or otherwise aligning
vertical guidelines to text features such as a tab stop, a margin,
a reflow bar, or other formatting feature. The method can also
include attaching or otherwise aligning horizontal guidelines to
text features such as a center of a line, a paragraph separator, or
title block. When a document object's position on the page changes,
guidelines associated with the content of the document object can
move along with the document object.
[0013] A guideline can include a gravity parameter that defines a
distance beyond which the guideline does not influence the
placement of a document object or its content. A guideline can
either span the entirety of the page or a portion thereof. If
content is located beyond the length of a fixed-length guideline,
the method can include suppressing the guideline's influence on
placement of that content. The method can also include establishing
a hierarchy between guidelines to facilitate preferentially
aligning content with respect to one guideline rather than
another.
[0014] In yet another aspect of the present invention, a
computer-implemented method for aligning content on an electronic
page can include organizing a page of multiple existing document
objects by arranging the contents of each document object in
relation to one or more other document objects on the page. The
method can also include establishing a hierarchy between document
objects to facilitate preferentially aligning content with respect
to one object over another and/or with respect to one area of the
page over another.
[0015] The discussion of aligning content presented in this summary
is for illustrative purposes only. Various aspects of the present
invention may be more clearly understood and appreciated from a
review of the following detailed description of the disclosed
embodiments and by reference to the drawings and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a
representative operating environment for an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating primary
functional components of an exemplary electronic document editor
and related input devices for an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a display image of an electronic page illustrating
an IP and a document object with guidelines, where the object
includes textual content and the guidelines are aligned to features
of the textual content in accordance with an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a display image of an electronic page illustrating
two document objects with guidelines and further illustrating
content alignment between the objects in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a display image of an electronic page illustrating
a graphical document object surrounded by a selection box and a
text box with guidelines that facilitate content-to-graphic
alignment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for
inserting a document object into an electronic page by aligning an
IP to a guideline of an existing object in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 7A is a display image illustrating an electronic page
with several document objects that have misaligned contents with
respect to one another prior to alignment in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 7B is a display image illustrating the electronic
document of FIG. 7A following content alignment for the document
objects in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
[0024] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for aligning
the content of document objects in an electronic document with
respect to one another in accordance with an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0025] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention support
aligning the contents of objects, such as the textual contents of
document objects, in an electronic document page. Guidelines that
emanate from features of the content of a document object support
positioning the content of one object into relative alignment with
the content of another object. Turning now to the drawings, in
which like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several
figures, a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention will be
described in detail.
Exemplary Operating Environment, FIGS. 1-2
[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates a representative operating environment
100 for an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. This
representative operating environment includes a general-purpose
computing device in the form of a conventional personal computer
101. Generally, the personal computer 101 includes a processing
unit 120, a system memory 104, and a system bus 102 that couples
system components including the system memory 104 to the processing
unit 120. The system bus 102 may be any of several types of bus
structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a
peripheral bus, and a local bus using any bus architecture. The
system memory includes a read-only memory (ROM) 106 and a random
access memory (RAM) 110. A basic input/output system (BIOS) 108,
containing the basic routines that help to transfer information
between elements within the personal computer 101, such as during
start-up, is stored in ROM 106.
[0027] The personal computer 101 further includes a hard disk drive
128, a floppy disk drive 132 for reading from or writing to a
removable magnetic disk 134, and an optical disk drive 138 for
reading from or writing to a removable optical disk 140 such as a
CD-ROM or other optical media. A hard disk drive 128, a magnetic
disk drive 132, and an optical disk drive 138 are connected to a
system bus 102 by a hard disk drive interface 120, a floppy disk
drive interface 130, and a CD-ROM disk drive interface 136,
respectively. Although the exemplary environment described herein
employs a hard disk 128, a removable magnetic disk 134, and a
removable optical disk 140, it should be appreciated by those
skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media that
can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic
cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli
cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, and the like, may also be used in the
exemplary operating environment. The drives and their associated
computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of
computer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules,
and other data for the personal computer 101.
[0028] A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk
128, the magnetic disk 134, the optical disk 140, the ROM 106, or
the RAM 110, including an operating system 112, an electronic
document editor 114, and multiple application programs 116-118.
Program modules typically include routines, sub-routines, programs,
objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular
tasks or implement particular abstract data types.
[0029] A user may enter commands and information into the personal
computer 101 through input devices, such as a keyboard 146 and a
pointing device, such as a mouse 144. Pointing devices may also
include a trackball (not shown) and an electronic pen or stylus
(not shown) that can be used in conjunction with an electronic
tablet or a typical display screen. Other input devices (all not
shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite
dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often
connected to a processing unit 120 through a serial port interface
142 that is coupled to the system bus 102, but may be connected by
other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, a universal
serial bus (USB), or the like. A display device, such as a monitor
124, may also be connected to the system bus 102 via an interface,
such as a video adapter 122. In addition to the monitor, personal
computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not
shown), such as speakers and printers.
[0030] The personal computer 101 may operate in a networked
environment using logical connections to one or more remote
computers 154. A remote computer 154 may be another personal
computer, a server, a client, a router, a network PC, a peer
device, or other common network node. While a remote computer 154
typically includes many or all of the elements described above
relative to the personal computer 101, FIG. 1 only illustrates a
memory storage device 156. The memory storage device 156 may
include Application Program A 158 and Application Program B 160.
The logical connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area
network (LAN) 152 and a wide area network (WAN) 162. Such
networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide
computer networks, intranets, and the Internet.
[0031] When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal
computer 101 is often connected to the local area network 152
through a network interface or adapter 150. When used in a WAN
networking environment, the personal computer 101 typically
includes a modem 148 or other means for establishing communications
over WAN 162, such as the Internet. Modem 148, which may be
internal or external, is connected to the system bus 102 via a
serial port interface 142. It will be appreciated that the network
connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a
communications link between the computers may be used.
[0032] Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the
present invention may be implemented in other computer system
configurations, including PDAs, electronic writing tablets,
multiprocessor systems, microprocessor based or programmable
consumer electronics, network personal computers, minicomputers,
mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be
practiced in distributed computing environments, where tasks are
performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a
communications network. In a distributed computing environment,
program modules may be located in both local and remote memory
storage devices.
[0033] FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting the primary functional
components of an exemplary electronic document editor and related
input devices for the representative operating environment of an
electronic writing tablet, otherwise described as an electronic
tablet. Specifically, FIG. 2 depicts an architecture 200 for an
electronic writing tablet in the context of an electronic document
editor constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention. Conventional input devices are represented
by the keyboard 260 and the pointing device 265 (e.g., mouse,
trackball). Other output devices (not shown) can include a printer
or speaker. Other hardware components shown in FIG. 2 include an
electronic tablet 250 and an accompanying stylus 255. The tablet
250 and stylus 255 are used to input handwriting strokes that can
be converted to data, referred to as electronic ink. The electronic
ink may be incorporated into an electronic document 220 and may be
displayed on either the electronic tablet 250, the monitor 270, or
both. Although the electronic tablet 250 and the monitor 270 are
illustrated as being distinct, in an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention, they can be integrated into a single component.
The joint tablet/monitor component has the ability to display
information and receive input from the stylus 255.
[0034] In the representative architecture 200, an ink-processing
module 225 is operable to receive data from the electronic tablet
250 and to render that data as electronic ink. In one embodiment of
the present invention, the ink-processing module 225 can be a
collection of software modules that perform different tasks for
rendering handwriting strokes as electronic ink. For example, the
stylus and ink module 228 can receive data describing the positions
and angles of the stylus for a series of handwriting strokes. The
stylus and ink module 228 can interpret the data for rendering
electronic ink. Other software modules, such as a gesture
recognizer 230 and word recognizer 235 can be designed to identify
certain handwriting strokes and assign them a particular
significance. For example, certain gestures such as a cross-out may
be recognized and associated with other editing processes. The
ink-processing module 225 can also include an erasing functions
module 240 for removing electronic ink that has been previously
rendered.
[0035] Although ink processing modules are known in the art and
necessary for an electronic tablet to function, a novel document
editing module has been developed by Microsoft Corporation of
Redmond, Wash. that capitalizes on the benefits of handwriting
processing technology. The module (i.e., document editor) is a
free-form document editor that leverages the functionality of
electronic handwriting technology to enable more effective and
efficient note taking. Specifically, document editing module 114
facilitates manipulating electronic ink so that a user can create
and modify an electronic document 220 with greater ease and
sophistication. The document editing module 114 typically comprises
a collection of software modules for controlling and manipulating
electronic ink rendered on the monitor 270. For example, a parsing
module 210 can be used to identify handwriting strokes that are
selected by the user for editing. Selected strokes may by
highlighted or shaded to assist the user in identifying which
strokes are to be edited. A classifier module 215 can identify
certain handwriting strokes as being part of a word or drawing and
may designate document objects accordingly. Also, the document
editing module 114 can seamlessly integrate ink processing,
performed by the ink processing module 225, with text processing,
performed by a text processing module 226. The text processing
module 226 can receive input from the keyboard 260 or a microphone
coupled with a voice recognition software program (not shown) or
other input device. This seamless integration allows a user a
variety of ways to create and edit document objects using the
electronic document editor 114 (FIG. 1) and multiple input devices
may be used to create or edit a single document object.
[0036] A membrane module 207 can create a membrane, also referred
to herein as a container, around a document object, delineating the
boundary of the document object to support editing the document
object. The membrane may be a set geometric shape, such as a
rectangle around the entire content of the document object, or may
mimic the contours of one or more sides of the document object
contents. The interior of the membrane shape may be shaded a
contrasting color compared to the background color of the document
page and the colors of the document object contents. For example,
the interior of a membrane shape may be shaded light gray while a
page area may be white and the contents may be black. The shading
color may be changed, either automatically by the membrane module
207 or a user, possibly by selecting options from a menu, to
enhance the contrast between the document page background, the
membrane, and the document object contents. In an alternative
embodiment, a membrane may be indicated through a haptic device, in
other words, a device that provides tactile responses. The membrane
module 207 may indicate which document objects are currently being
acted upon by a user by displaying a membrane around that document
object or by displaying some other indicator, such as one or more
handles on a continually-displayed membrane. Also, the membrane
module 207 may create a ghost membrane when an IP is placed on a
document page outside an existing document object boundary. This
ghost membrane may have a fixed size, shape, and shading. These
characteristics may be fixed within the membrane module 207 or,
established by the membrane module 207 through a user selecting
characteristics for the ghost membrane, such as by selecting items
from a menu.
[0037] A guideline module 208 can create guidelines that emanate
from content features within a document object and serve as
floating positional references for the placement of other content
on the electronic page. The guidelines adhere to features of the
content in a document object, so that if the document object is
repositioned on the page, the guidelines follow the document
object's movement. Guidelines differ in this respect to a document
grid, which is a coordinate system that is fixed to the document,
in similar fashion to the writing lines on a sheet of traditional
paper.
[0038] The guideline module 208 can, for example, establish
horizontal guidelines that are fixed to text lines or vertical
guidelines that are fixed to tab settings. When multiple guidelines
emanate from a single document object, the guideline module 208 can
apply rules to the situation to determine the relevance of each
guideline for positioning new content. The guideline module 208 can
also determine a guideline hierarchy so that content can be
positioned according to the guidelines of one document object
rather than the guidelines of a less-dominant document object.
[0039] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate most
directly to bringing the contents of multiple document objects into
relative alignment with one another. FIGS. 1 and 2 provide a
general overview of the environments in which the present
invention's use is contemplated.
Exemplary Electronic Pages, FIGS. 3-5
[0040] FIG. 3 is a display image that depicts an electronic
document 300 presenting an existing document object 310 and a new
IP 320. This figure illustrates a typical situation in which a user
has previously entered an island of content 310 into an electronic
document 300 and is now initiating the process of entering a new
island of content at the IP 320. As will be described below, the
present invention can automatically adjust the IP 320 so that when
the user enters new content onto the page 300 the new content is
automatically aligned with existing content.
[0041] The document object 310 is positioned at an arbitrary
location on the page 300. This position could be described in terms
of an absolute coordinate system (not shown) of the page 300 that
is often referred to as a "grid." Independent of a grid coordinate
system, the present invention can use guidelines to reference the
placement of new content on the page 300 to the position of the
existing document object 310. FIG. 3 depicts Guidelines 330-350
emanating from Document Object 310 that facilitate the placement of
new content on the page 300 in relation to the content of Document
Object 310. The guidelines 330-350 are attached to the content of
the document object 310 so that if a user relocates the document
object 310 on the page 300, the guidelines 330-350 move along with
the document object 310.
[0042] The guidelines 330-350 are vertical and horizontal reference
lines that intersect with features of the content that are
pertinent to alignment. Horizontal guidelines 330, which are
aligned to the lines of text that make up the contents of the
document object 310, provide a spatial reference for the vertical
placement of other content on the page 300 in relation to that
text. Measuring the shortest distance between Guideline 331 and
Graphic Element 352 on the page 300, for example, yields the
vertical offset between that element 352 and the first line of text
in the document object 310. Since Guideline 331 is attached to the
content of the document object 310, the guideline 331 moves and the
offset changes if the document object 310 moves but the graphic
element 352 remains stationary. The offset also changes if the
graphic element 352 moves but the document object 310 remains
stationary. Similarly, the offset remains constant if the document
object 310 and the graphic element 352 move in unison.
[0043] Although depicted in FIG. 3 as tracing the bottom of a line
of text, horizontal guidelines 330 can provide a reference to a
variety of textual and graphic features. For example, a horizontal
guideline can be aligned to the center point of a graphic image
that is embedded in text or otherwise part of a document object's
content. One or more horizontal guidelines can provide a reference
to the top of a table that is content in a document object 310. A
horizontal guideline can delineate the title bock from the body of
a text box that is displayed in an electronic document page 300. A
horizontal guideline can indicate the position between two
paragraphs or between two sections of content in a document object
310 that contains a body of textual content. A horizontal guideline
can be collinear with the `total sum` line in a spreadsheet of
financial data.
[0044] In addition to horizontal guidelines 340-342, FIG. 3
illustrates vertical guidelines 340, 341, 342, 350 that are
attached to content features in the document object 310. Guideline
340 traces the left-most text location, or left-hand margin, in the
document object. In other words, if a user selected the document
object 310 and began entering a string of text using a
left-justified format, the first letter in the string would be
aligned to Guideline 340. Guideline 341 traces the position of the
first tab stop, or line indentation, in the content of document
object 310. Similarly, Guideline 342 indicates the position of the
second tab stop in the content of document object 310.
[0045] Guideline 350 is aligned to the reflow bar of the text
content in the document object 310. If a user enters a character
into a text line of the text block on the left side of Guideline
350, the character remains on that text line. However, if a user
enters a character that crosses Guideline 350 from left to right,
then the entered character reflows to the next line. Guideline 350
can also indicate the position of text alignment for text in a
right-justified format.
[0046] Like horizontal guidelines, vertical guidelines can provide
a reference to a variety of textual, numeric, and graphical content
features. For example, a vertical guideline can delineate between
two columns of content. For document objects that present lists of
financial numbers, a vertical guideline can indicate the position
of a decimal point or a dollar sign in the list.
[0047] Vertical guidelines 340-350 facilitate the determination of
a horizontal displacement between a content feature and another
element on the page 300. For example, measuring the shortest
distance between a tab guideline 341 and Graphic Element 355 on the
page 300 yields the horizontal displacement between the tab and the
graphic element 355.
[0048] Although FIG. 3 depicts the guidelines 330-350 as solid
lines, in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the
guidelines 330-350 are not visible on the electronic page 300 to a
user. In one embodiment of the present invention, the guidelines
330-350 are present on the page 300 but not visible. In one
embodiment of the present invention, each guideline 330-350 is an
equation of a line that is coded in software.
[0049] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention as
illustrated in FIG. 3, each guideline 330-350 has a fixed length.
If an element is positioned on a page 300 beyond the length of a
fixed-length guideline 330-350, then the element is outside the
measurement bounds of that guideline 330-350. Thus, the length of a
fixed-length guideline 330-350 is useful to define a measurement
region surrounding a document object 310. Inside the region,
displacement of an element relative to a content feature is
relevant to the organization of content on the page 300. Outside
the region, displacement of an element relative to a content
feature is less important to the organization of content on the
page 300. For example, Guideline 341 facilitates a measurement of
the horizontal displacement between Graphic Element 355 and the
first tab stop in the content of the document object 310. In
contrast, Graphic Element 360 is outside of Guideline 341's
measurement boundary.
[0050] In an alternate exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, each horizontal guideline 330 spans the full width of
the document page 300, and each vertical guideline 340-350 spans
the full height of the document page 300. A full-page guideline
(not shown) provides a displacement measurement between a feature
of a document object 310 and another element on the page 300
regardless of the distance between the document object 310 and the
other element. In other words, the measurement boundary of a
full-page guideline can encompass the entirety of the page 300. If
Guideline 341 was a full-page guideline, then it would facilitate
horizontal displacement measurements of both Graphic Element 350
and Graphic Element 360 relative to the first tab stop.
[0051] For both full-page guidelines and fixed-length guidelines
330-350, the specifications for each guideline 330-350, can include
a gravity distance. Gravity distance is the distance over which a
guideline is relevant to the alignment of content. For example, the
gravity of Guideline 342 might not extend to Graphic Element 365,
which is positioned on the opposite side of the page 300. In one
embodiment of the present invention, gravity is a preset system
parameter. In another embodiment of the present invention, a user
sets gravity according to user preference and application needs. In
yet another embodiment of the present invention, gravity is set as
a fraction of page width.
[0052] The electronic page presented in FIG. 3 includes an IP 320
through which a user enters content into the page 300. Using a
pointer, such as a stylus 255 or a pointing device 265, the user
indicates to the computer system 200 a location on the page 300 for
content entry. After indicating the IP 320, the user can begin
entering content.
[0053] If a user selects an IP 320 without precisely aligning the
IP 320 to the content of the existing document object 310 and
begins entering content at that spatial location 320 on the page
300, then the new content will be misaligned with the content of
the existing document object 310. The present invention can avoid
this misalignment condition, which is usually undesirable, by
automatically adjusting the IP 320 so that the new content is
aligned to the existing content.
[0054] If a user selects an IP at Position 320 as illustrated in
FIG. 3, then the present invention can shift the IP to Position 380
so that the new content is aligned to the existing content in the
existing document object 310. In one embodiment of the present
invention, the IP 320 shifts into alignment 380 after the user
selects the IP position but before the IP appears on the page 300.
In other words, if a user selects an IP position 320 that will
result in content that is out of alignment with preexisting content
310, then a computer-implemented process moves the IP 320 into a
position of alignment 380 and displays the aligned IP 380 on the
electronic page 300. In another embodiment of the present
invention, the IP 320 shifts into alignment after the user enters
the new content. In other words, if a user selects a misaligned IP
position 320 and enters new content from the misaligned IP position
320, then a software-based process moves the IP 320 into a position
of alignment 380 after the user completes entering the new content.
The newly-entered content follows the IP movement and thus snaps
into alignment with the content of the preexisting document object
310. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, when a
user selects an IP position 320 that is out of alignment, the
electronic page displays both the misaligned IP 320 and the aligned
IP 380, so that the user can choose to enter content from either IP
320, 380.
[0055] An exemplary process for implementing this positional
adjustment can include measuring the displacement between IP 320
and Guideline 331 and moving IP 320 to Position 380 so that the
shifted IP 380 is aligned with Guideline 331. FIG. 6, which is
described below, illustrates a flow chart for an exemplary
adjustment process.
[0056] Whereas FIG. 3 illustrates an electronic page with a
text-based document object 310 and an IP 320, FIG. 4 illustrates an
electronic page 400 with two document objects, one of which has
textual content embedded in an exemplary graphic.
[0057] The left document object 405 depicted in FIG. 4 is a
graphical representation 408 of a computer storage device with
textual content 410. Horizontal guidelines 430 trace each line of
content while Guideline 431 and Guideline 432 specifically trace
the first and second lines of content respectively. Vertical
Guidelines 440, 441, and 442 indicate the margin, first tab stop,
and second tab stop respectively. The right document object 310 is
a reproduction of the exemplary document object 310 that is
illustrated in FIG. 3 with similar vertical and horizontal
guidelines 330-340.
[0058] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary scenario in which a user
enters inserts a graphic document object 405 and its content 410 at
an arbitrary position on the electronic page 400. After this entry,
the user enters a second, non-graphic document object 310 at a
misaligned position on the electronic page 400. The user inserted
the second document object 310 into the page 400 by "cutting" the
object from another page (not shown) and inserting it into the
illustrated page 400, for example.
[0059] FIG. 4 further illustrates a capability of the present
invention to align the content 310 of a newly-entered document
object 310 relative to the content 410 of a previously-entered
document object 405. The present invention can adjust the position
of the non-graphic document object 310 so that its content is
aligned to the content 410 of the other document object 405, which
the user previously inserted. The horizontal guidelines 330, 430 of
the document objects 405, 310 facilitate measuring vertical
misalignment, which corresponds to the adjustment distance that is
needed to bring the content into relative alignment. A
computer-implemented process moves the non-graphic document object
310 vertically, as indicated by the arrows 460, until Guideline 431
overlays Guideline 332.
[0060] In one embodiment of the present invention, software in the
document editing module 114, which is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2,
aligns each line of content separately to provide line-to-line
alignment for text blocks with slightly different line heights. For
example, the contents of the graphic document object 405 and the
non-graphic document object 300 could be formatted with 1.25 line
spacing and 1.35 line spacing respectively. For this situation, the
present invention can adjust the vertical position of the first
line of content in the non-graphic document object 310 until
Guideline 332 overlays Guideline 431. Similarly adjusting the
second line of content until Guideline 331 overlays Guideline 432
aligns the second line of content in both document objects 405,
310. Separately adjusting each line of textual content brings the
full content of both document objects into alignment.
[0061] FIG. 5 illustrates the application of guidelines in a
graphic-orientated electronic page 500 in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The electronic page
500 includes a document object 510 that contains a graphical
illustration 520 of a device and a document object 570 that
contains textual content 575, 580 that describes specific features
of the device. The figure also presents guidelines 560, 565, 593,
596 that facilitate alignment between the device features and the
content 575, 580.
[0062] A graphical representation 520 of a flat-panel computer
display terminal is surrounded by a larger selection box 530 with
protruding manipulation handles 540. A vertical guideline 550 marks
the center of the flat-panel display, which is offset from the
center of the selection box 530 and the manipulation handles 540.
Guideline 560 and Guideline 565 respectively mark the top of the
flat-panel display and its base. The illustrated guidelines 550,
560, 565 that are associated with the flat-panel display document
object 510 are independent of the selection box 530 and the
manipulation handles 540. Consequently, the guidelines 550, 560,
565 facilitate alignment of content on the page 500 to features of
flat-panel display irrespective of the selection box 530 or the
manipulation handles 540.
[0063] A text-oriented document object 570 contains two smaller
document objects, each of which holds content that describes a
specific feature of the flat-panel display 520. One of the two
smaller document objects 575 is a block of textual and graphic
content related to the top of the flat-panel display 520. The
content describes the top of the display, and an embedded arrow 578
serves to point out the specific device feature. Guideline 593
traces the center of the first line of textual content and the
center of the embedded arrow 578. As illustrated, the text block
575 and its embedded arrow 578 are misaligned with the top of the
flat-panel display. To align the content 575 and the arrow 578 to
the top of the flat panel display, the present invention moves the
content of the small document object 575 vertically until Guideline
593 overlays Guideline 560.
[0064] The other smaller document object 580 includes a block of
textual content related to the base of the flat-panel display 520.
Guideline 596 indicates the centerline of the first line of content
in Document Object 580. As illustrated, the textual content 580 is
misaligned with the device feature to which it refers. To bring it
into alignment, the present invention moves the content of Document
Object 580 vertically until Guideline 596 overlays Guideline
565.
[0065] FIG. 5 also illustrates a vertical guideline 583 associated
with the group of product-feature document objects 570, 580, 575.
Guideline 583 facilitates the alignment of the content of Document
Object 575 in relation to Document Object 580, which are
illustrated in an aligned state. Guideline 583 also facilitates the
alignment of Document Object 575 and Document Object 580 within
Document Object 570. In other words, Guideline 583 represents a
left text margin for Document Object 575, a left text margin for
Document Object 580, and/or a text alignment guideline for Document
Object 570.
Exemplary Process for Aligning Content, FIG. 6
[0066] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 600 for
inserting a document object into an electronic document by aligning
an IP to a guideline of an existing object in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Process 600 is an
exemplary process for implementing the alignment illustrated in
FIG. 3 and described above.
[0067] The present invention can include multiple computer programs
which embody the functions and/or implement the steps described
herein according to the exemplary flow charts. However, it should
be apparent that there could be many different ways of implementing
the invention in computer programming, and the invention should not
be construed as limited to any one set of computer program
instructions. Further, a skilled programmer would be able to write
such a computer program to implement the disclosed invention
without difficulty based on the exemplary flow charts and screen
displays and associated description in the application text, for
example.
[0068] Therefore, disclosure of a particular set of program code
instructions is not considered necessary for an adequate
understanding of how to make and use the invention. The inventive
functionality of the claimed computer program will be explained in
more detail in the following description in conjunction with the
remaining figures illustrating the functions and program flow.
[0069] Certain steps in the processes described must naturally
precede others for the present invention to function as described.
However, the present invention is not limited to the order of the
steps described if such order or sequence does not alter the
functionality of the present invention. That is, it is recognized
that some steps may be performed before or after other steps or in
parallel with other steps without departing from the scope and
spirit of the present invention.
[0070] Referring now to FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, at Step 605, a user
selects an electronic page 300 for editing. At Step 610, the
document editing module 114 responds to the user and opens an
electronic page 300 that may or may not contain an existing
document object 310. At Step 615, the user selects a location 320
on the page 300 as the insertion point for entering content. The
user may implement this selection by placing a pointing device 265,
such as a mouse or a stylus, anywhere on the two-dimensional
surface of the page 300 while viewing a user display such as a
monitor 270 or a tablet 250.
[0071] At Step 620, the document editing module 114 determines if
the page 300 contains one or more existing document objects 310. If
the page 300 contains existing document objects 310, the document
editing module 114 can adjust the IP 320 to align new content with
existing content 310, as discussed below. If the page 300 does not
contain any existing document objects 310, then at Step 630, the
document editing module 114 retains the location of the IP 320 that
the user selected in Step 615. At Step 640, the user enters content
and the document editing module 114 inserts the content into the
electronic page based on the IP 320. In other words, if a user
selects a content-entry location 320 of a blank electronic page
300, then the document editing module 114 places the user's content
at that location 320.
[0072] After the user enters content into the electronic page 300,
Sub-process Create Guidelines 650, which is a routine in the
guideline module 208 illustrated in FIG. 2, creates guidelines
aligned to features of the new content. In one embodiment of the
present invention, the guidelines are vertical and horizontal
guidelines aligned with formatting features of the new textual
content.
[0073] If the user selects an insertion point location in an
electronic page 300 that contains an existing document object 310,
then the document editing module 114 adjusts the IP 320 following
Steps 655-680. At Step 655, the document editing module 114
determines if the IP 320 is within the gravity and measurement
boundary of at least one guideline. In one embodiment of the
present invention, the determination is based on rules contained in
the guideline module 208. If the IP 320 lies outside of the gravity
and measurement boundary of each guideline 330-350 on the page 300
or if each document object 310 does not have any guidelines
330-350, then the document editing module 114 executes Step 630 and
inserts the new content at the user-selected IP 320.
[0074] If at least one guideline 330-350 applies to the IP 320,
then at Step 660, the document editing module 114 determines if the
IP 320 is within the gravity and measurement boundaries of multiple
guidelines 330-350. If the determination is positive, then the
document editing module 114 implements Sub-process Select Guideline
670, which is contained in the guideline module 208, to select a
single guideline to apply to the IP 320. In one embodiment of the
present invention, Sub-process 670 selects the guideline 330-350 on
the basis of its relative position to the IP 320. For example,
Sub-process 670 can select the guideline 331 that is adjacent or
closest to the IP 320.
[0075] Sub-process 670 can apply various rules contained in the
guideline module 208 to determine the dominance of one guideline
relative to another. In one embodiment of the present invention,
guideline hierarchy is user-selected. In another embodiment of the
present invention, guideline dominance is a function of position on
the page 300. For example, a guideline that is left of the IP 320
can be dominant over a guideline that is right of the IP.
[0076] After selecting a single guideline 330-350 to apply to the
IP 320, the document editing module 114 moves the IP 320 from the
user selected location 320 to a position 380 aligned to the
selected guideline 331. At the adjusted IP 380, the document
editing module 114 insets the new, user-entered content into the
page 300. By aligning new content with existing content 310, the
document editing module 114 enhances readability and usability of
the page 300 and its content.
Exemplary Pages and Process for Organizing a Page, FIGS. 7A, 7B,
8
[0077] In addition to organizing content as a user is entering the
content into a page, in one embodiment, the present invention can
organize a page after the page contains multiple document objects
with misaligned content. FIG. 7A is a display image illustrating a
page 700A with four document objects that are misaligned with
respect to one another prior to alignment in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The electronic page
700A presents Document Objects 310, 710, 740, and 750, each with
horizontal and vertical guidelines attached to content features
relevant to content alignment. FIG. 7B is a display image of the
same page 700B with the same document objects 310, 710, 740, 750
and same guidelines following alignment by an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an
exemplary process 800 for aligning the contents of document objects
with respect to one another in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 furthermore illustrates
an exemplary process 800 for organizing the content of the page
700A presented in FIG. 7A to provide the aligned format 700B
presented in FIG. 7B. Process 800 is described below in reference
to the exemplary pages illustrated in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B.
[0078] Referring now to FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 8, at the beginning of
Process 800, a page 700A includes multiple document objects 310,
710, 740, and 750 with misaligned content, for example as
illustrated in FIG. 7A. At Step 810, a user enters a request into
the electronic writing tablet 200 to automatically align the
content of the page 700A. At Step 820, the document editing module
114 engages the guideline module 208 to identify the most dominant
document object and the guidelines attached thereto.
[0079] In one embodiment of the present invention, the document
editing module 114 determines object dominance on the basis of
position on the page 700A. In one embodiment of the present
invention, the further left a document object is positioned on the
page 700A, the greater its dominance. In one embodiment of the
present invention, the higher the document object is positioned on
the page 700A, the greater its dominance. In one embodiment of the
present invention, a document object that is in the top, left-hand
corner of the page 700A has the greatest dominance. In another
embodiment of the present invention, user preference sets forth the
dominance of a document object. Those skilled in the computer-based
document arts appreciate that the present invention supports a
variety of rules and processes for determining the alignment
dominance of one document object relative to another.
[0080] For exemplary page 700A, the document editing module 114
identifies Document Object 310 as dominant over the other objects
710, 740, 750. This identification establishes the position of the
content of the most dominant document object, for example Document
Object 310. At Step 830, the document editing module 114 selects
the next most dominant document object for content positioning
relative to the most dominant object 310. For exemplary page 700A,
the document editing module selects Document Object 710.
[0081] At Step 840, the document editing module 114 aligns the
content of the second most dominant document object 710 with the
content of the most dominant document object 310. For exemplary
page 700A, the document editing module 114 adjusts the position of
the content of Document Object 710 into alignment with the content
of Document Object 310 according to the displacement of Guidelines
720 and 722 relative to Guidelines 331 and 332. After alignment,
Guidelines 720 and 722 overlay Guidelines 331 and 332 respectively,
as illustrated in FIG. 7B.
[0082] At Step 850, the document editing module 114 adjusts the
position of the content of the next most dominant document object,
while maintaining the guideline alignment achieved in Step 840, to
avoid infringing other, more dominant document objects. In other
words, at Step 850, the document editing module 114 can fine-tune
the position of the document object content that was positioned in
Step 840. For exemplary page 700B, the document editing module 114
determines if the new, adjusted position of the content of Document
Object 710 interferes with another document object. Since FIG. 7B
does not illustrate an interfering object, the page 700B does not
require further positional adjustment. If fine-tuning positional
adjustment was needed, the document editing module 114 would adjust
the horizontal position of Document Object 710's content while
maintaining its vertical position.
[0083] At Step 860, the document editing module 114 determines if
there are additional document objects on the page with contents
that need to be aligned. If the determination is positive, the
document editing module 114 iterates Steps 830, 840, 850 for each
document object on the page. The process ends when the content of
each document object is aligned.
[0084] For exemplary page 700A, the second processing iteration
aligns the content of Document Object 740 with the contents of
Document Object 310 and Document Object 710. Moving Document Object
740's contents vertically overlays its Guidelines 742 and 744 with
Document Object 310 Guidelines 337 and 338 respectively, thereby
aligning Document Object 740's content relative to Document Object
310's content. Moving horizontally while keeping these guidelines
742, 744, 337, 338 in alignment facilitates the alignment of
Document Object 740's contents with respect to Document Object
710's content. The document editing module 114 moves Document
Object 740's contents horizontally until Guidelines 748 and 746
overlay Guidelines 724 and 726 respectively. When Guidelines 748,
746, 724, and 726 are in alignment, the content of Document Object
740 is positioned into alignment with the content of both Document
Object 710 and Document Object 310.
[0085] The third processing iteration for exemplary page 700B
aligns the content of Document Object 750 with the content of
Document Object 310 by overlaying Guidelines 758 and 760 with
Guidelines 340 and 341 respectively. When the third processing
iteration on exemplary page 700A is complete, the page 700B is
organized and the content is aligned as illustrated in FIG. 7B.
With the content presented in this aligned format, a user can
efficiently access information.
CONCLUSION
[0086] One skilled in the art would appreciate that the present
invention supports aligning the content of multiple documents
objects relative to one another in an electronic page. An insertion
point for the addition of new content can be placed on an
electronic document page outside of an existing document object. In
response to placing the IP on the page, a computer-implemented
method can adjust the position of the IP so that the new content is
aligned in relation to the existing content. When a page has
several existing document objects, a computer-implemented method
can organize the page so that the content of each document object
is aligned relative to the other document objects.
[0087] Guidelines, which provide an indication of relative
displacement, can emanate from features of new and existing content
that are relevant to alignment. A region of gravity and a
measurement boundary for each guideline can determine the
circumstances, such as a spatial dominion, to which a guideline
applies. Rules applied to the document objects on a page can set
forth the dominance, or alignment hierarchy, of each document
object on the page.
[0088] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the
preferred embodiment of the present invention overcomes the
limitations of the prior art. From the description of the preferred
embodiment, equivalents of the elements shown herein will suggest
themselves to those skilled in the art, and ways of constructing
other embodiments of the present invention will suggest themselves
to practitioners of the art. Therefore, the scope of the present
invention is to be limited only by the claims below.
* * * * *